Erling Haaland contract: ranking the biggest contracts in sports history, including Juan Soto, Cristiano Ronaldo and more | Football news
The announcement of Erling Haaland’s extraordinary new nine-and-a-half-year contract with Manchester City has fueled fresh intrigue about the biggest contracts across world sport.
Haaland’s new contract is thought to make him Man City’s highest-paid player – a position which also now appears to make him the highest earner in the entire league – but how would the Norwegian striker’s new deal compare to other leading stars in other sporting fields?
The Haaland news comes just a month after baseball New York Mets signed Dominican star Juan Soto for what is believed to be the biggest deal in the history of professional sport – a reported $765m (£626m) 15-year package.
ESPN reported at the time that Soto’s mega contract included a $75 million signing bonus, no deferred money, a full no-trade clause and an opt-out after five years, which the Mets could get rid of by raising his salary from $51 million to $55 million over the last 10 years of the contract.
And if the Mets were to pick up that option, then the contract would be worth $805 million over the life of the contract, further eclipsing the $700 million deal that Shohei Ohtani signed with LA Dodgers in 2023
What are the biggest annual and total contracts in sports?
Soto has $51 million annual However, the salary is not the highest in world sports, according to Forbes.
Cristiano Ronaldo he reportedly earns around $210 million a year Al Nasrwhile Lionel Messi‘with Agreement from 2017 with Barcelona earning him a reported annual salary of $168 million.
While accurate financial data from HaalandThe new contract with the Norwegian is, of course, strictly confidential, the latest contract is an improvement on the Norwegian’s previous contract which Sky Sports News understands he was in the region of £400,000 ($487,596) a week, making him Man Cityhas the highest earnings.
That previous deal would have been worth £20.8 million ($25.4 million) a year for the striker.
So even if we use those previous figures as a starting point and extend them to his now new nine-and-a-half-year tenure, Haaland’s new deal is clearly worth more than £197.6 million ($241.3 million) over its entire duration.
All over $240 million ranks Haaland’s contract among the 50 most lucrative sports contracts of all time.
In other sports, the four-time F1 world champion Max Verstappen has a reported annual salary of $60 million Red Bullwith an additional $15 million in performance-related bonuses.
Soto won’t even be the highest paid player in the US, either Dak Prescott will make $60 million a year with Dallas Cowboys, while Steph Curry is the highest paid NBA star with an annual salary of over $55 million.
But in terms of total money paid out over the entire contract, Soto is far ahead of any other global sports star.
What Haaland said about his new contract
Commenting on his new contract, Haaland said: “I’m really happy to have signed my new contract and I can look forward to spending even more time at this great club.
“Manchester City is a special club, full of fantastic people with amazing fans and it’s the type of environment that helps bring out the best in everyone.
“I also want to thank Pep [Guardiola]his coaching staff, my teammates and everyone at the club because they have all helped me a lot in the past few years. They made this such a special place and now I’m City no matter what.
“I want to keep developing, keep working to get better and try to do my best to try to help us achieve more success in the future.”
The agreement followed “months” of negotiations
Sky Sports News reporter Ben Ransom:
“It’s absolutely titanic. What a signing for Manchester City. What a moment to announce this news as well.
“They’re calling it a 10-year deal because we’re in the first year. It’s unprecedented in terms of the length of contract Manchester City have given a player.
“As for the player to give it to, who better than Erling Haaland? A man who has already achieved so much in his two and a half years here and scored so many goals.
“You can only begin to dream where his tally could end up if he stays until 2034, when he will be 34.
“He’s obviously a player who loves Manchester City. He’s someone who was born into a family that had a real connection with City through his father, Alfie Haaland.
“From City’s point of view, it is a real pleasure that he has committed his future.”
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